Alafaya Trail construction putting East Orlando drivers at risk.
By Brian Yogodzinski
Attributes of the South Alafaya Trail Widening project continue to create safety related issues that place the motoring public at risk. On Tuesday a vehicle ended up on its roof at Mark Twain Boulevard.
Given that the speed limit is 45 mph in the area and that the vehicle was on the roadway, this is an abnormality. Vehicles are more commonly prone to rolling over at higher rates of speed of when the vehicle leaves the roadway. The details of why the vehicle ends on its roof are unknown, but the conditions created by the project could have played a major factor in the event.
The intersection of South Alafaya Trail and Mark Twain Boulevard is cluttered with barrels that obscure the vision of drivers. Also these barrels are blocking off usable roadway that if removed would open up the roadway to two lanes in each direction and also significantly increase the field of view. A clearer field of view is a definite safety enhancement to the motoring public.
Why the County continues to not implement measures that would enhance safety is unclear. It is sort of like common sense is uncommon for the Orange County. They need to take a more proactive approach to this project.
It continues to drag on with no clear completion date – and while it lags behind, it continues to expose the motoring public to issues that are contributing factors to our safety.
Brian Yogodzinski is a Mechanical Engineer from North Carolina State University with 25 years of experience, primarily in the power generation business. During that time he became a specialist in the area of Transportation Engineering for the movement of over-dimensional and over-weight components such as power plant generators, combustion turbines, and steam turbines, with typical components ranging from 110,000 pounds to 1,000,000 pounds. He has extensive experience working with state and local authorities to ensure regulation compliances and safe transit of these commodities in the public domain. He currently works for a firm that builds equipment for and constructs power plants.
